Apparatus for feeding tape carrying slide fasteners and deburring the same



March 20, 1962 .K. F, NAGELE 3,02

APPARATUS FOR FEEDING TAPE,CARRYING SLIDE FASTENERS AND DEBURRING THE SAME Filed Feb. 25, 1959 Arryi United States Patent APPARATUS FOR FEEDING TAPE CARRYING SLIDE FASTENERS AND DEBURRING THE SAME Karl Friedrich Nagele, Stuttgarter Strasse 144, Stuttgart-=Hohenheim, Germany Filed Feb. 25, 1959, Ser. No. 795,438 Claims priority, application Germany Feb. 25, 1958 3 Claims. (Cl. -21) The invention relates to apparatus for brushing and polishing, or removing burrs from, the punched edges of metallic sliding clasp fastener elements clamped on an endless beaded tape by means of rotating steel wire brushes.

In previously known apparatus for this purpose, the metallic sliding clasp fastener elements, fixed on an endless beaded tape, are treated by steel wire brushes on the lateral edges to remove burrs from the lateral edges. Recently processes have been adopted which consist in feeding a round wire or the like to a machine which works completely automatically. The round wire is profiled in the machine, then each fastener element made from the free end of the wire is clamped on an endless beaded tape and is subsequently cut off from the wire. These fastener elements generally have burrs on their tips which are very undesirable.

The invention has for an object to remove the burr on the upper tip edge of interconnected fastener strips made in automatic sliding clasp fastener machines, and to effect this in as uniform a manner as possible independently of the variations in speed of manufacture or of any variations in speed of feed to the burr-removing apparatus.

' Accordingly, the invention includes a drum or the like rotating with a greater peripheral speed than the feed speed of a tape carrying fastener element. The tape is guided over the periphery of the rotating drum in a sliding manner with a substantially constant tension and with the fastener tape disposed flat, in such a manner that the tip edge of the fastener extending beyond the lateral edge of the periphery of the drum is gripped by one or more successive brushes in the longitudinal direction of the tip edges. Since the constant tension of the tape is essential for properly removing burrs the invention includes means for obtaining constant sliding tension of the tape on the periphery of the rotating drum. A guide roller is mounted axially parallel to the drum, freely rotatable on the arms of a spring biased pivotable angle lever, one roller of which is resiliently applied against the periphery of the drum on the tape run-off side of the fastener strips relatively to the drum, whilst another guide roller on the feeding side of the fastener tape relatively to the drum feeds the tape tangentially to the periphery of the drum with a tension obtained by means of the spring equipment of the angle lever. By means of this arrangement, electromagnetic slipping clutches or sensitive mechanical slipping clutches are rendered superfluous. In this arrangement, when the tape has a varying speed of feed, an adjustment of the movement of the tape is obtained by the oscillating movement of the angle lever as the feeding speed of the interconnected fastener strips varies. The pressure roller is alternately pushed up and then retracted on the run-off side of the drum in accordance with these oscillations. It is possible by this means to alter the sliding movement of the tape on the periphery "ice drawings which show a specific embodiment thereof by way of example and in which:

FIG. 1 shows a schematic perspective view of the apparatus;

FIG. 2 shows a horizontal partial section through a polishing brush with a partial piece of fastener strip in plan;

FIG. 3 shows a perpendicular partial section through the rotating drum with the interconnected fastener strips running over the periphery of the drum; and

FIG. 4 shows a measuring device for indicating the tape supply tension.

The device for removing the burrs from, and polishing the tip edges of, metallic sliding clasp fastener elements which are clamped on an endless beaded tape is employed in connection with a machine for making sliding clasp fasteners. The machine uses metallic wire, from which fastener elements are stamped to a certain profile in the machine and are clamped on a beaded tape, the individual fastener elements being subsequently cut off from the profiled wire. An endless tape is thereby produced on to which fastener elements are clamped. This endless tape 1, having fastener members 2 clamped thereon, is then passed over a rotating drum 3 for a suitable length of the periphery. Drum 3 has a peripheral speed which is somewhat faster than the feed speed of the tape 1. One side edge of drum 3 is provided with a circumferential groove 4 so that half of the width of the fastener elements 2 clamped on the beaded tape 1 can occupy this groove 4. The tip edge 2a of each of the: metallic fastener elements freely extends beyond the side edge of the drum. One or more rotating steel Wire brushes 5 and 6 are disposed in cooperation with drum 3. The axis 7 of the brushes is normal to the axis of the drum. These steel wire brushes stroke along the tip edges 2a of the fastener elements and thereby remove the tip edge burrs produced on cutting off the fastener members in the fastener forming machine. According to the invention it is advantageous to provide two rotating steel wire brushes 5 and 6, parallel to a radius of the transporting drum 3, one steel wire brush being disposed in front and the other behind this radius, so as to ensure that on passing the fixed fastener elements, one steel wire brush engages more markedly one edge of the fastener members, for example the front edge, whilst the other steel wire brush 6 mainly strokes the rearward tip edge. In other words the median plane of the two steel wire brushes 5, 6 makes an angle with the diametral plane of the fastener elements passing along the brushes.

For removing burrs from, or polishing, the tip edges of the fastener elements it is necessary for the tape 1 to be fed over the periphery of the drum with as uniform a tension or slide tension as possible in order to prevent a damaging strain on the tape when removing burrs and in order to ensure that the fastener elements are held sufiiciently rigidly on the periphery of the drum, when the brushes move rapidly. For this purpose an angle lever 9 is swivel-mounted on a pivot 8 fixed parallel to the drum axis. One lever arm 9a extends upwardly and, on a pivot 10, bears a guide roller 11, the periphery of which is applied against the periphery of the drum 3. The other angle arm 9b also bears a parallel, freely rotatable guide roller 12. The tape 1 with the fastener elements 2 secured thereto, is passed round guide roller 12 and is fed tangentially to the periphery of the drum 3. The lever arm 9b has a free clearance from the periphery of the drum and is provided with a spring 13 pressing the lever arm 9b downwardly. The tension of this spring 13 may be adjusted by means of an adjusting screw 14 or the like and causes the guide roller 11 to be pressed against the periphery of the drum 3. To in- 3,0 3 sure that no interference'is caused by the fastener elements 2 when the endless fastener strips pass between the periphery of the drum and the guide roller 11, the

guide rol1er11 is provided'with'a circumferential groove in which the fastener elements locate. The mode of operation is as follows.

Drum 3 is rotated and has a peripheral speed whichis "somewhat greater than the speed of feeding of tape 1. Suppose that spring 13 lowers lever arm'9b and'causes roller 11 to be firmly pressed against the periphery of drum 3, roller 11 then rotates at the same peripheral speed as drum 3 so that slippage between tape 1' and drum 3 would tend to be instantaneously prevented. Tape 1 would then tend to be driven at the same peripheral speed as drum 3. However, since the tape feed speed is less than the peripheral speed of drum 3 the roller 12' is lifted up by the tape against the spring 13 a very short distanceto pivot lever arm 9b. Roller 11 then separately slightly from the periphery of the drumso that tape 1 slips on the periphery of durm 3. This Ltends to reduce tension in tape 1 so that roller 12 is slightly lowered and roller 11 is again applied firmly against the periphery to retard slippage of the tape; 1 Roller 12 then risessligh'tly as before'to'lift lever arm 9b. This .cycle' is'rr'epeated over and'over; The'cyclic'repetition rate is so rapid that lever 9 reinains" in constant oscillation about pivot 8. This causes the tapel te-pass overthedruma 3 at such slightly'varyi'ng speeds that the tension: in: the Thus, the' rotating; wire brushes 5 and 6'always work against tip edges of tape remain substantially constant.

fastener members held on a properly tensioned moving tape.

One advantageous feature is that itis possible; ac-' cording to the invention, to control'the desired tension-t ispassed over a' guide roller 16, then downwardly over" aguide roller 17 and from there'upwardly again over a third guide roller 18. The guide roller 17 is mounted to be freely rotatable on a' lever 19, which is in turn adapted to swivel about the pivot 20'; This lever His checked against the tape tension by means of a spring 2land its free end passes over a scale 22 which is suitably' calibrated. If the speed of feeding the endless tape 1 is varied and hence also the sliding tension on the periphery of the drum 3, then the lever 9 is swivelled against the spring 21 towards one side or the other and thereby shows deviations from the desired tape tension.

I claim:

1. In an apparatus for removing burrs from punched edges of fastener membersclamped on acontinuous beaded tape, the combination comprising a drum driven at a constant peripheral speed, means for'feeding said tape on to the peripheral surface of the drum at varying speeds slightly less than the peripheral speed of the drum; and tape tensioning means including a spring biased pivoted lever carrying rollers at opposite ends thereof, one

of said rollers being spring pressed upon the tape in.

advance of feed thereof to the drum while the other roller is'pressed against the drum with the tape therebetween, whereby said lever oscillates in response to varying feed speed of tape sothat tension in the tape passing over the drum is maintained substantially constant while the tape slips with: respect to the peripheral surface of the ro-.

tating drum.

2. The combinationaccording to claim 1, wherein said drum has a 'peripheral recess'for' receiving portions of fastener members'on said tape while edge portions of said members project outwardly from the drum, and at least one rotatable'brush disposed at said'drum to engage said edge'portions of said members for deburring and polishing said edge portions;

3. The combination according to claim 2. wherein the first named means includes a pair of spaced idler rollers, and another spring biased idler roller disposed between said pair of spaced idler rollers, saidtape being entrained over and around'the idler rollers, a second pivotal lever engaged by said other idler roller for movement as tension varies in the tape, and a scale associated with the second pivotal lever for measuring change in tension in the tape by the extent of movement of said second pivotal lever with respect tothe scale.

References Cited in the file ofthis patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 989,871 Pringle ,Apr. 18, 1911 1,115,828" Johnston Nov. 3, 1914 1;586,719 Swab. June 1, 1926 2,-'824;319. Nagele Feb. 25, 1958: 

